PLANT LAYOUT

AND CELLULAR MANUFACTURING

DR ASHISH RAJAK
ME, IIT INDORE

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Outline

■ Fundamentals of layout
– Product
– Process
– Fixed
– Hybrid
■ Cellular Manufacturing
– Characteristics
– Implementing Cells
■ Part Families
■ Production Flow Analysis

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What is the Facility Layout
Problem?
■ Concerned with arrangement of machines, cells, or
departments.
■ Often computationally difficult.
■ A decision is both quantitative & qualitative.

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Why is the Layout Problem
Difficult?
■ It has geometric and combinational aspects.
■ Jig-saw puzzle.
– Difficult picture
– No picture
– No shapes
■ Goal: Minimize material handling costs.

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Effective Facility Layout

■ Minimize material handling costs

■ Utilize space efficiently & effectively
■ Utilize labor efficiently & effectively
■ Eliminate bottlenecks
■ Eliminate wasted or redundant movement
■ Incorporate safety & security measures

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Basic Layouts

■ There are three basic types of layouts:

– Process
– Product
– Fixed-position
■ There are two hybrid types of layouts
– Flexible and Mixed-Model manufacturing systems
– Cellular

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 Process Layout
■ Process layouts (functional layouts)
– Definition – A layout that groups similar activities together in
departments of work centers according to process or functions
that they perform.

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Characteristics of Process layout

■ Goal – To minimize material handling cost

■ Product – Varied made to order
■ Demand – Fluctuates
■ Production volume – low (custom products)
■ Inventory – High in process
- Low in finished goods
■ Storage Space – relatively large
■ Aisles – tend to be wide
■ Material handling – variable path (forklift)

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Characteristics

■ Layout decision – machine location based

■ Workers tend to be skilled at operating the equipment in their

departments

■ Intermittent, job shop, batch production, mainly fabrication

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 Process Layout

Lathe Lathe Drill Weld Weld

Warehouse

Warehouse
Lathe Lathe Drill Paint Paint

Mill Mill Grind Assembly

Mill Mill Grind Assembly

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Process-Oriented Layout
 Department areas having similar processes located in close proximity
 Design places departments with large flows of material or people together

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Process Layout - Advantages

 Better utilization of machines

 Fewer machines required
 High degree of flexibility relative to equipment or manpower allocation
for specific tasks
 Comparatively low investment in machines is required
 The diversity of the task offers a more interesting and satisfying
occupation for the operator
 Specialized supervision is possible

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Process Layout
Characteristics
■ Advantages
– Deep knowledge of the process
– Common tooling and fixtures
– Most Flexible -- can produce many different part types
■ Disadvantages
– Spaghetti flow -- everything gets all tangled up
– Lots of in-process materials
– Hard to control inter-department activities
– Can be difficult to automate

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Process Layout - Limitations

 Since longer flow lines usually result, material handling is more expensive
 Production planning and control systems are more involved
 Total production time is usually longer
 Comparatively large amounts of in-process inventory results
 Space and capital are tied up by work-in-process
 Because of the diversity of the jobs in specialized departments, higher
grades of skill are required
■ Inefficient
– Because jobs or customers do not flow through in an orderly
fashion; backtracking is common.
■ Idling
– Workers may experience more “idle time” if they are waiting around
for more work to arrive from a different department.

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Impact of Interruptions on Flow Paths

Lathe Drill Grind Drill

Press Bend Drill Mill

Mill Drill Drill Mill

Lathe Lathe Mill Drill

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Designing Process Layouts
■ The main goal to keep in mind is to minimize material handling
costs
■ Therefore the departments that incur the most interdepartmental
movement should be located closest to one another
■ Two types of design layouts
– Block diagramming
– Relationship diagramming

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Block Diagramming
■ This refers to the movement of materials in existing or proposed
facility
■ Information is usually provided with a from/to chart or load
summary chart

– This gives the average number of units loads moved between

departments

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Block Diagramming

■ A unit load can be a single unit, a pallet of material a bin of

material, or a crate of material
– Material is constantly moving from location to location
■ The next step is to design the layout by calculating the
composite movements between departments and rank them
from most movement to least movement
– Composite movement refers to the back-and-forth
movement between each pair of departments
■ Finally, trial layouts are place on a gird that graphically
represents the relative distances between departments.

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 Computerized Layout Solutions

■ Several computer programs exist that assist in designing process

layouts
■ The best known are CRAFT (Computerized Relative Allocation of
Facilities Technique) and CORELAP (Computerized Relationship
Layout Planning)
■ Basically the computer program is given layout date and then
makes a recommendation

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Service Layouts
■ Most Service organizations use process layouts because of the
variability in customer requests for service

■ Service organizations look to maximize profits per unit of display

space, rather than minimize customer flow

■ The layout must be aesthetically pleasing we well as functional

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 Process in Manufacturing firms
■ Process layouts require flexible material handling equipment (such
as forklifts) which can follow multiple paths and carry large loads of
in-process goods
■ All areas of the facility must have timely access to the material
handling equipment

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The Product Layout

■ Definition
– A facility layout that arranges activities in a line
according to the sequence of operations that need to be
performed to assemble a product, while minimizing
material handling costs.

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History of the Product Layout

■ 1895 - Frederick Winslow Taylor.

– Work should be broken into individual tasks.
– Those tasks can be shortened or eliminated.
■ Frank Gilbreth - Time study techniques.
■ Work combined led to maximum efficiency in industrial work.

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Product Layouts

■ Most appropriate for continuous operations.

■ Used for products with high volume and steady demand.
■ Machines perform a singular, specialized task.
■ Machines are organized consecutively.

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 Product Layout

Lathe Drill Grind Drill

Warehouse

Press Bend Drill

Assembly
Mill Drill

Lathe Lathe Drill

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 Product Layout

Part #1 L L M D G

A A
Receiving L M G G
Part #2
L M D Shipping
Part #3

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Product Requirements
 Standardized product
 High production volume
 Stable production quantities
 Uniform quality of raw materials & components

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 Product-Oriented Layout -
Assumptions
 Volume is adequate for high equipment utilization
 Product demand is stable enough to justify high investment in
specialized equipment
 Product is standardized or approaching a phase of its life cycle that
justifies investment in specialized equipment
 Supplies of raw materials and components are adequate and of
uniform quality ensure they will work with specialized equipment

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Product-Oriented Layout Types
Assembly Line
• Assembles fabricated parts
• Uses workstation
• Repetitive process
• Paced by tasks
• Balanced by moving tasks

Fabrication Line
• Builds components
• Uses series of machines
• Repetitive process
• Machine paced
• Balanced by physical redesign

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Line Configuration

■ The flow of products is continuous along a line.

– Linear pattern.
– “L” pattern.
– “U” shape.
– Snake shape.
■ Shape determines workers flexibility.

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Product Layout - Advantages
 Layout corresponds to the sequence of operations, smooth and logical
flow lines result
 Work from one process is fed directly into the next, small in-process
inventories result
 Total production time per unit is short
 Machines are located as to minimize distances between consecutive
operations, material handling is reduced
 Little skill is usually required by operators at the production line; hence,
training is simple, short and inexpensive
 Simple production planning and control systems are possible
 Less space is occupied by work in transit and for temporary storage
 Lower variable cost per unit

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 Product Layout - Advantages
■ Stable rate of output.
■ Work-in-process inventory is low.
■ Total production time/unit is reduced.
■ Space is effectively utilized.
– Narrow aisles.
■ Labor pool is large.
– Single skilled.

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Product Layout - Limitations
 A breakdown of one machine may lead to complete stoppage of
the line that follows that machine
 Since the layout is determined by the product, a change in product
design may require major alterations in the layout
 The “pace” of production is determined by the slowest machine
 Supervision is general
 Comparatively high investment is required, as identical machines
(a few not fully utilized) are sometimes distributed along the line
 Lack of flexibility

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Product Layout -
Disadvantages
■ If one machine fails the whole process stops.
■ Changes in product design can render the layout obsolete.
■ Bottlenecks govern the speed.
■ Large support staff required.
■ High fixed costs.

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 Product Layouts - Now & Then
■ Traditional
– Top priority: Line balancing.
– Inventory buffers.
– Planned by admin. staff.
– “L” shaped lines.
– Conveyor movement.
■ New Focus
– Top priority: flexibility.
– Preventive maintenance
– Shop supervisor designs and
adjusts.
– “U” shaped lines.
– Stations are close together.
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Designing Product Layouts

■ Main Objective: Arrange workers and machines in a line

according to the operations that need to be performed.
■ It isn’t always that simple.
– Line balancing.
■ Line balancing software:
– COMSOAL - IBM
– ASYBL - GE

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Line Balancing

■ Equalizes amount of work at each station.

■ Constraints in Line Balancing.
– Precedence Requirements
■ The order in which operations need to take place.
– Cycle Time
■ Maximum time a product can be at a station.
■ A guess and check process.

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Fixed-Position Layouts
 The product remains stationary for the entire
manufacturing cycle.
 Equipment, workers, materials, and other resources
are brought to the production site.

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Fixed-Position Layouts
When is it used?

Fixed-Position layouts are used in projects in which the product cannot be

moved.

It is typical of projects in which the product produced is:

– too fragile
– bulky
– heavy to move

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Fixed-Position Layouts
Characteristics of the process:

■ Equipment ■ Cost breakdown for fixed-position layouts:

– Low equipment utilization: – Fixed Cost:
■ idle equipment at location ■ relatively low (equipment may
not be owned by the company)
■ it will be needed again in
a few days
– Variable Cost

– Equipment is leased or subcontracted

■ High (due to high labor rates
and the cost of leasing and
■ it is used for limited moving equipment.
periods of time

■ Workers
– Highly skilled at performing special tasks
– High wage rates

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Fixed-Position Layout - Advantages
 Material movement is reduced
 Promotes job enlargement by allowing individuals or teams the perform
“whole job”
 Continuity of operations and responsibility results from team
 High flexibility; can accommodate changes in product design, product mix,
and production volume
 Independent of production centers allows scheduling to achieve minimum
total production time

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Fixed-Position Layout - Limitations
 Increased movement of personnel and equipment
 Equipment duplication may occur
 Higher skill requirements for personnel
 General supervision required
 Cumbersome and costly positioning of material and machinery
 Low equipment utilization

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Factors Complicating a Fixed Position Layout

 Limited space
 Coordinating service providers in sequence, on time, on schedule, and
with other activities occurring concurrently
 Volume of materials changes often

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 Fixed Position Layout

Lathe Press Grind

Warehouse
Warehouse

Drill Paint Assembly

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Hybrid Layouts

■ Flexible & Mixed-Model Manufacturing

– High level of complexity
– Mathematically intensive
■ Cellular Manufacturing

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